Foreign Service Institute language difficulty categories
FSI language difficulty categories and hours
FSI categories are not proficiency levels but a difficulty ranking: how many class weeks English-speaking diplomats typically need to reach ILR 3 (professional working proficiency). Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean sit in Category IV at about 88 weeks.
The short answer
The US Foreign Service Institute groups languages by the class hours English speakers need for professional working proficiency. Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean need about 2,200 hours; Vietnamese and Thai about 1,100; Malay and Indonesian about 900.
Organisation
US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute
Scale
Categories I–IV
Levels
4
Latest version
Current State Department list (Categories I to IV)
Used for
Estimating study time for English speakers; course planning at the Foreign Service Institute
Kungfucius says: The famous 2,200 hours assume full-time classes, small groups and a government salary. Your evenings after work may take a bit longer.
Every level